Pesinden TukinemIn the Javanese court or Keraton, only the inggah section of Bedaya Pangkur is used, without the ciblon drum. The gerong and pesinden sing together.

Padang Bulan (Tjeluk Padang Rembulan ) is also known as Kinanthi Padang Bulan. In the Keraton there is a bedaya dance named Bedaya Pangkur. The gending (tune) for Bedaya Pangkur uses Kinanthi Padang Bulan. When Pangkur Bedaya reaches the end, or suwuk, it continues into Buka Celuk Padang Bulan. It is known as Kinanthi Padang Bulan because the beginning (buka celuk) uses the words padang bulan:

Padang bulan kekencaranNedhenging purnama sidhi

Translated: the moon’s is brightest on the night of the full moon (purnama sidhi).

In a traditional Javanese wedding ceremony there is a section known as kirab in which the bride and bridegroom walk past the guests and ask for their blessings. This kirab procession sometimes uses Kinanthi Padang Bulan.

Kinanthi Juru Demung is similar to Kinanthi Padang Bulan.What distinguishes the two is that when it is performed in slendro manyura, the text used for the bedaya dance is the text Juru Demung. But in a concert or klenengan performance with the same balungan notation, after the juru demung text used in irama dados, the gerongan text changes to kinanthi in the irama ciblon section. It is called Kinanthi Juru Demung because in a performance, the text kinanthi is used as well as the text juru demung.

PUSPANJANA is a musical interlude which is sometimes used when Kinanthi Juru Demung is performed as klenengan. This interlude is in ladrang form and cannot be performed alone but as a continuation of Kinanthi Juru Demung. The text used is taken from Sekar Ageng Kusumastuti.

This tells the story of Begawan Suwandagni and his son Suwanda. Each day Suwanda increases his wealth of mystical or spiritual knowledge. When it is felt he has sufficient knowledge, he is sent to the city to find work as a servant of the king. He finally leaves his village and travels to the city to serve the king, Arjuna Sosrobau.

“Oh my child, it is time for you to go to the cityDo not spend all your life in the villageYou should go to the cityTo the city and work for the kingMy only message to you is that you continue to work hard in all things.”

The king agrees to accept him as a servant if he can prove himself by winning a contest. The prize for the winner is a princess. Suwanda wins the contest and is appointed as the prime minister (patih) to the king.

Bawa means the start of a gending and functions as a buka (opening). A bawa enables a male singer, or penggerong, to show off his vocal skills and wealth of cengkok.Retna is used to address a woman, Asmara – love, Retna Asmara means a woman in love.

Gending Kembang WidaraIn day to day language kembang widara is the name of a tree.

The performance continues into Ladrang Cangklek. Kembang Widara and Ladrang Cangklek must always be performed together as a sequence. Kembang Widara continues into Ladrang Cangklek laras pelog patet nem.

Ladrang Cangklek was composed by Pakubuwono V. In this performance it contains a section of Dolanan (children’s song) Pendhisil. The word mendhisil means to stand out

Muncar is to provide illumination, hence there is pandan muncarPandan - illumination from a kerosene light. Muncar – to shine a light

This performance of Gending Muncar composed by Pakubuwono IV, is based on the song Maskumambang; pelog barang, and does not have a specific continuation to another piece. Hence, Gending Muncar itself can continue to various other pieces such as ladrang Sumyar, ladrang Eling - eling, ladrang Ginonjing pelog barang. In this case it continues to Sumyar. Pak Cokrowarsito composed the text used in irama tanggung, which tells a dancer, how to stand, move, about the costume worn, and the movements which match the irama of the gamelan, all of which create a beautiful sight to watch. This well-known melody is sometimes used for Tari Golek Sumyar, and also for a kind of hobby horse dance named Tari Kuda-kuda.

Pucung is a tembang macapat

The meaning of the text is as follows: To become clever requires a lengthy process in which a person must go to school. One cannot simply buy a certificate. We must set out with good intentions to strengthen our work. With a clean heart and sincere intentions, we can achieve our goal without too many obstacles or temptations. This is the andegan in Sumyar.

Musically, Sumyar is pleasant to listen to, with its andegan episodes. Tembang Pucung is an opportunity for a pesinden to show off her skills, her wealth of cengkok, wilet, and gregel.

pesinden: SuparmiIt is said that before becoming a gending in Javanese karawitan, Gending Kuwung composed by Pakubuwono V, was performed as a gending terbang Santiswara. The gerong uses the text Kinanthi.

In performance, the form of the gending is a kind of srepeg rangu - rangu.Rangu - rangu means confused or hesitant. Here it is performed as an introduction to the andegan by the name of Kembang Jagung.

The meaning of kuwung-kuwung is unclear but in rural areas the word kuwung refers to a shape similar to a rectangle but smaller at one end.

Rangu-rangu (occurs at about the 10 minute mark) and is used as an introduction to Kembang Jagung, (occurs about the 12.30 mark) which is a gending dolanan (children’s song).

The text for Kembang Jagung is interesting in that it is a display of satire towards the king.

During colonial times, some kings worked closely with the colonial government. While the king lived in comfort with all his needs provided for, his people lived in suffering and poverty. Today this kind of protest would be made through a demonstration but at that time the demonstration was through the text of a gending.

Kembang jagung is the name for the sinuhun (the title of the king)Omah kampung pinggir lurung – a small house at the side of the streetJejer telu – three in a rowSing tengah bakal omahku – the middle one is mine

This is said to refer to the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Australia, with Indonesia in the middle.

Gempa Munggah guwa - gempa is a kind of animal which lives in the forest, similar to a deer or wild boar. This represents the poor people.

Mudun menuju bon raja - Bon raja (Go down to a place of recreation for the king)Why go there? To pick soka flowers – beautiful flowersTranslated the protest reads:

“Do not work closely with the colonial government as it only suppresses the poor people.If this happens, I will overthrow those who inflict harm on the poor people.If you continue, I will fight you.If you retreat, you will be harmed because there is no choice.”

The cassette was issued on the 15th of September, 1972.Keluarga Karawitan Studio RRI Surakarta led by P. Atmasunarto.

LOK 009

1. Gending Titipati. Slendro NemThe Gending Titipati was Paku Buwono IV’s last composition. Titipati is a symbol for the last gending. In karawitan, Gending Titipati is not only played for a klenengan or concert, but it is also used as a gending wayang. As a gending wayang, Titipati is played for the kedathonan portion, namely kedathonan Ngastina Dewi Banowati. It uses the ciblon drum. The text in gending Titipati is in the Asmaradana style, and the story is taken from Serat Menak (The Knight’s Letter). It tells the story of the Ambassador Damarwulan.

“During the Majapahit time, there once ruled a queen named Ratu Ayu Kencono Wungu. This queen was confronted by the regent of Probolinggo, Menak Jinggo who rebelled against the Majapahit. A huge army was sent to vanquish him, but they were wiped out.

Ratu Ayu Kencono Wungu received a vision that someone would come to fight with Menak Jinggo, and that this person would win. She found Damarwulan, the son-in-law of Majapahit vizier, patih Logender. He was married to Anjasmoro, the vizier’s daughter. They were newly wed.

The Queen summoned Damarwulan, and assigned him to fight with, and kill, Menak Jinggo.Damarwulan’s heart was split in two. Eventually with difficulty he chose to leave his wife and go into battle.

He entered the kedaton of Blambangan, where Menak Jinggo resided. Both men fought a long fight. Menak Jinggo was very mighty, as he had a sakti (magical power) in him. Thrust by a spear, he laughed, stabbed by a dagger, he smiled. He could not be killed. Damarwulan finally lost the duel.

Damarwulan was a very handsome-looking knightThus Menak Jinggo said: ‘I will not kill you. You have such a handsome and fine face. I will not kill you straight away, instead I will use you.’”

For Javanese people, the lesson to be learned from this song is the hesistation one faces when one has to decide between one’s duty and responsibility as a citizen and one’s personal affairs.In the transition from Titipati to Siyem, the galungan structure is unusual.

Ladrang Siyem.The name Siyem is taken from Siam, the old name for Thailand. During the reign of Paku Buwono X (1893 until 1939), there were many dignitaries who came to visit the Kraton from foreign countries. When the dignitaries came from the Kingdom of Siam (now known as Thailand), the musicians played the Thai national anthem. Listening to this anthem, the pengrawit (musicians) from the Solo palace reckoned that there was an element similar to slendro in its melody. Later on they composed Ladrang Siyem, based on this melody. This melody is so popular that it is even used in the Ramayana dance in the Prambanan temple.

2. Ladrang Asmaradana. Slendro Manyura

Asmaradana is a type of a Javanese traditional song, dating from the Majapahit period. Majapahit has eleven types of tembang or sekar; including, Mijil, Kinanthi, Pucung, Sinom. Dhandhanggulo, Asmaradana, etc. From these tembang or sekar, the gending are composed.

The gending Asmaradana was composed during the Paku Buwono X era (also the time of Mangkunegoron IV). The prominent figure who composed these gendings was Raden Mas Harjo Tondokusumo. He was a member of the Mangkunegaran family.

This type of gending was commonly used to accompany a dance, called Langendrian, which belonged to the Mangkunegaran family. Langendrian is a form of dance where all the dancers are female.

The Asmaradana is very popular within the community. It is not only used for Langendrian, but also for Klenengan, Wayang Orang, Ketoprak and Wayang Kulit. In wayang kulit, it is used like Titipati, namely during the section of kedatonan. Asmaradana is also used for gending Beksan. There is golek Asmaradana, there is Beksan Menak Koncar. These gending use Ladrang Asmaradana.

Furthermore, because Asmaradana songs are pleasant, they are formed into smaller forms, namely Ketawang Asmaradana.

Asmaradana is a love song, and has a happy or cheerful character, rhythm, style and atmosphere. Although sometimes there is a sombre tone, still it is about love. It is like falling love; although there are tears, they are a different kind of tears. (laughter and tears which happen simultaneously).

The text is taken from Serat Menak, and the pesinden is Prenjak.“Puspo jane awak mami, tangtu no pangestu ne tiang”

These words describe the scene where Damarwulan is dying, while Menak Jinggo hesitates in killing him.

There is a part before the gerong and sindhen come together, in kenong 1 called senggakan (punctuation). This senggakan functions as an ornament for the whole song.

The garap (a correct and appropriate technique in playing gending and singing a song) of this tune shows the happy character of the piece. It uses irama wiled, and irama rangkep. Both are used to support the happy atmosphere of the gending.

In irama rangkep or Double Tempo, the interplay between gender and bonang is very attractive, as if both instruments are communicating with each other. It is enjoyable to listen to them. Sometimes there are certain “signals” being expressed between each of the gamelan players, as if one is asking the other to come and play. Each musician contributes to the other respectively. Thus it is very appropriate if we say that gamelan karawitan is in fact a community life, where elements of togetherness, tolerance and communication play an important role in holding the community together.

Asmaradana is taken from Majapahit tembang. Each title of tembang Majapahit describes the stages of one’s life. Asmaradana is the stage where people start to fall in love, or take interest in the opposite sex.

Before the bawa is sung, it is preceded by a patetan, senggringan or tingtingan.In karawitan, it is usually pathetan which has the function of emphasizing how the pathet feels for those who will sing the bawa.

Between the bawa and the gending, a dhawah is used. Between the bawa as an intro and the time the gong buka starts, this space is called dhawah. Dhawah means to fall, to come down. This term is only used in the Surakarta/Solo area.

The pembawa here is Pak Sastro Tugiyo, the same pembawa who sang the bawa in Gambir Sawit.

The bawa lines are basically telling that this is gending Onang-onang.The merong part in Titipati has no gerong elements, whereas Onang-onang uses the gerong element. The gerong in Onang-onang uses the Kinanthi text.

There are many special garaps in gending Onang-onang. Usually the sindhen starts in kenong 2, but in Onang-onang she starts in kenong 1.

The suling sounds we hear in this recording are immaculate. It is very rare nowadays to find a suling player of such quality. Pak Tarina Pangrawit died only recently (2005).

One can notice when Onang-onang starts from the words sung by the sindhen “alah Bapak onang-onang.” It is apparent that the text is specifically for Onang-onang, and cannot be used in other gending.

After the gong, the tune Tirto Kencono begins.In Onang-onang, the text used is kinanthi, whereas in Tirto Kencono, the text used has a structural characteristic called salisir.

Salisir only consists of four lines, each line consists of eight syllables while Kinanthi consist of six lines.Onang-onang was a composition by PB IV, as was Titipati.

It was composed in pelog nem. At the beginning, onang-onang is in laras (tone) slendro, pathet sanga. Although it is presented in pelog, the kendangan (drum) still uses the kendang induk, namely, slendro songo.

Onang-onang is a happy gending, and many special garaps are being used for sindhen, rebab and gender. The irama transitions, cengkok, wilet, sindhen, gender and rebab are very complex and difficult.

The cassette was issued on the 10th of April, 1972. Recording dates of the tracks are supplied below.Keluarga Karawitan Studio RRI Surakarta led by P. Atmasunarto, with Ki Nartosabdo as conductor.Tracks 4 & 7 recorded in Semarang - Paguyuban Condong Raos, directed by Ki Nartosabdo.

1.Ketawang Ibu Pretiwi, P nem, 16 April 1969.(Download)Persinden: SumarmiUmpak: introduction.Our motherland has given enough food and clothing for loyal and dedicated people. With a deep love of mankind, she is very just and fair and has a noble character. Therefore, let us serve her.Second part:This is the primary tune. The one before was only an umpak.This is the essence. Ngelik means high tone/soundIf we go back to the accompaniment for a wedding ceremony in Surakarta area, this ngelik (high singing) is used for kirab or procession. When the bride and groom come out from the dressing room, they walk toward the pelaminan (a dais on which the bridal couple sit). This tune is also used in a fragment depicting Janoko Cakil (Arjuna and the Ogre with a funny fang/Buta Cakil). The part where Janoko dances uses this tune. This piece functions as kembangan.

2. Ketawang Subakastawa (Gubahan) or Rinengga, P nem, 1 May 1969. (Download)Ki Nartosabdo is a pioneer of composition. He uses many old tunes which he brings back to life with new words. This is an examplePersinden include Ngatirah and Sumarmi.“It’s so beautiful, the white clouds over the mountain. Clear running water flowing through the rice fields, watering the rice plants, corn, cassava, beans and sorghum. The sound of water flowing. Sah…Sah…Sah, The farmers are making noises to frighten away the birds from eating the plants.”In the pedalangan (shadow puppet) world, this tune accompanies the delicate and subtle nature of Janoko’s (Arjuna’s) movement. But, the one before, which used the kendang ciblon, is for accompanying Semar, Petruk and Bagong. The repertoire is very alive. It includes male and female vocals which are sung in turn. This is a Nartosabdo creation. It shows a western influence. At that time in the 60s, this type of presentation of a tune in Java was still very rare. Now it is quite common.

3. Swara Suling. P nem, 1 May 1969.(Download)The musical genius of Ki Nartosabdo comes into play with this song which it is said was suggested to him by his great friend K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat better know these days as Pak Cokrowasito from Yogyakarta.The song existed as a vocal only. Ki Nartosbdo’s brilliance was to take this simple 8 beat melody and embellish it with an instrumental part featuring five different types of drum.This piece has become one of the most loved pieces all over Indonesia. Many variations have been made upon this theme, amongst them being the wonderful “gambang suling” Balinese versions of the piece.Lyric: The sound of flute carries across and reaches the ears of a listener with a saddened heart. The flute often displays a sadness which can comfort those in distress.The ketiping, kentrung, suling and kendang all combine to make this piece lively. The rigorous sounds cause the heart to beat.

4. Rujak Jeruk, Sl M, 4 May 1970.(Download)Persinden: NgatirahThis piece begins with a bawa or poetic sung interlude. In happy tunes females sometimes sing the bawa as is the case here. In more serious music the bawa is always sung by the male. This bawa is known as Sinom Rujak Jeruk. This is a new composition composed by Ki NartosabdoWhile waiting at the door for my husband to return, I wile away the time by slicing and cutting fruit. I am making rujak (fruit salad), not forgetting to prepare everything properly first. Making this rujak will be a remedy for my longing. I add some water to the rujak. Inside the layah (a bowl-like stone mortar used to make rujak), the red palm sugar and chilies are already prepared. Not long after my salad is ready. I hope the father of my child will come home.This song depicts a mother and wife left by her husband, but she is able to cope.“This is how I feel after not have seen my husband for long time. However, it does not matter as long as all our needs are fulfilled. Do not forget me so that our dignity is maintained. Your child is crying. Is this a sign that something is wrong? I hope you always remember me, do not let yourself tempted by a woman with lighter coloured skin.This gendhing is often used for humorous, playful performance. When there’s a dagelan lawak (comedian) performing, the tune is used to accompany the players when they enter the stage.

5. Ketawang Suka Asih, PB, with Bawa. Sinom Logondhang, 1 May 1969.(Download)Pesinden: SumarmiStarts with Bawa Sinom Logondhang“With a deep love, a mother brings her child up. Teach your child to speak, “O, my baby, don’t cry. I always pray to God so all your wishes may come true. Yet, my child, you must be willing to work hard so when you grow up you can become a leader of our beloved nation.”

6. Santi Mulya, P5, 4 December, 1969.(Download)Pesinden: NgatirahSanti = to pray to God, Mulya = prosperity, blessed with happiness and wealth.Fly the flag of our nation,May prosperity prevail,Prosperity for Indonesia so she is forever filledWith a noble determination,United in order to prosper, and of good characterSo that the nation is peacefuland exists forever, facing no obstacles.More perfect when our lives are based on Pancasila.So our nation is glorious.7. Kalongking, P nem, 5 May 1970.(Download)persinden: NgatirahBawa Pucung: The text is new, but the melody is old. This is also a Ki Natosabdo creation. Kalongking means a huge bat.The song describes:Fruit bats fly to and fro in a group,Selecting trees that are loaded with fruit.They quarrel and fight for the fruit as soon as they arrive.They are too busy fighting to see that a trap has been set.The result is that they fall into the trap and are caught.

8. Mbok Ya Mesem, Sl sanga, 30 May 1969.(Download)Give us a smileA smile gives comfort to people who are quiet and rather sad. Melancholy is dangerous.The man asks that the promises he and his wife made when they were young lovers courting should still hold good.“Let us laugh together, and work in a good and honest way. That way I believe that we will certainly attain our desires.”